Revolving-cylinder internal-combustion engine



1. u. ROOTS.

REVOLVING 'cvunwan INTERNAL COMBUSTIDN ENGINE APFLICATIQN FILED AUG. I I; 1919' 1 437 447, Patented Dec. 5,1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. D. RQO-TS.

REVOLVING CYLINDER INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED AUGJI, 1919.

1,4314%7, Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

ii i l ilT if. I

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JAMES DENNIS ROOTS, F KENSINGTON, LONDQN, ENGLAND.

REVOLVING-CYLINDER INTERNAL-COMBUSTIGN ENGINE.

Application filed August 11, 1913. Serial No. 316,809.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Janus DENNIS Boors,

a subject of the King of Great Britain, re-

siding at 58 Avonmore Road, West Kensington. London. W. 1 1, England, have invented Improvements in Revolving-Cylinder internail-Combustion Engines, of which the following is the specification.

This invention relates to improvements in revolving cylinder internal combustion engines.

lln engines of this type hitherto the usuai construction employed has been that in which the revolving radial cylinders secured to a crank casing have been mounted upon a fixed or stationary crank shaft, the crank casing rotating upon bearin s upon the crank shaft, and the pistons being connected by connecting rods to the crank pin.

By my invention I dispense with the usual crank and crank pin, and employ a straight shaft. Integrally formed with or rigidly secured to the straight shaft are a pair of discs eccentrically arranged on the shaft and spaced thereon. On the exterior of each disc I provide a flange on which the inner edges of the chamber casing enclosing the big ends and carrying the cylinders are mounted and adapted to rotate. The cylinders are preferably of the usual radial type secured radially upon the central casing. The pistons are connected by the usual connecting rods to the stationary straight shaft within the casing between the discs, and the operation of the connecting rods and pistons with relation to the shaft and the cylinders is similar to that in the usual construction in which the big ends are connected to the crank pin.

The cylinders rotate upon antifriction hearings on the exterior of the two disc flanges.

The propeller in an air craft engine is preferably secured to a shaft bolted to the connecting rod chamber, in other engines thecrank chamber. Or the propeller shaft or sleeve may be mounted on a projecting portion of engine shaft and be driven by the casing at half the engine speed by gear wheels. Or the propeller may be mounted onv a sleeve on a shaft projecting from thecentre of the outer disc and be driven by planet or internal wheels from the engine.

The described construction enables shorter connecting rods to be used and considerably reduces the diameter of the engine and.

-ders, see Fig. 1.

therefore the weight and otherwise conduces in design to reduction of weight. This con-- struction also provides a greater width of shaft upon which to mount the big ends, and therefore a larger bearing surfaceJTt more over provides ready means as before stated for driving the propeller at half the speed of the engine, in a manner obvious to any person having a knowledge of internal combustion engines.

And in order that my invention may be completely understood reference should he made to the accompanying sheet of drawin which illustrates one mode of carrying same into effect.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional elevzu tion of an engine according to the invention on the plane of the stationary shaft axis and of the propeller shaft axis and through the centre of one of the cylinders.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the engine. Only one of the seven cylinders of'the engine is shown in both figures.

is the fixed'shaft mounted and secured in a similar manner to that in engines in which a fixed crank shaft is employed. The shaft projects on one side of the engine only and it serves in known manner to support and carry the engine. The shaft A is formed hollow and serves to convey the gas mixture as well as lubricant to the cylinders in known manner and similar to these engines having a fixed crank shaft. The shaft has secured thereto or integrally formed there with the two discs B, B The discs B B are mounted eccentrically with relation to the fixed shaft A. Each disc is formed with a flange C at its periphery and on each flange is secured the'inner ring of a ball bearing race D. The outer ring D of each such bearing is mounted in a flanged recess within the casing E which carries the cylin- By means of the antifriction bearings the cylinder casing E rotates upon the peripheries of the discs B. B having the axial centre represented by the dotted line Z. The casing E is preferably divided in the usual manner in the plane of rotation and oined together by bolts F in order to clamp the cylinders between the two portions of the casing in known man: her in fixed crank shaft engines. The cylinders, of which. one only, G, is shown, are all arranged radially in the usual manner this type of engine round the chamber.

The propeller shaft H in an alrcraft engine is bolted to the cylinder casing E concentrically and rotates with the casing upon the axial centre Z. The distance between the centre line Z and the dotted line the centre of the fixed shaft, corresponds with the throw of the crank in a crank shaft engine, and twice this distance will be equal to the stroke of the piston in the cylinder of the engine shown.

The connecting rod I is connected to the piston J in the usual manner. The piston and cylinder are of the usual or known con struction. The big end of the connecting rod T as also the other six connecting rods are fitted to the shaft A between the discs B and B by joints of the usual and known kind by which these are fitted to a crank pin in the usual engine of the revolving type. Any suitable kind of big end connection to the shaft A may be employed but this does not form part of my invention and is not shown, in order to render the view of the shaft A, and the present invention clearer.

Any suitable kind of ball or roller thrust bearing, not shown, may be fitted between the propeller shaft H and the disc B to take the end thrust in this shaft.

It will be understood that although a cylinder of the monosoupape type of engine is shown, the invention is adaptable to any known construction of revolving cylinder engine having any known and suitable cycle of operations.

The drum or casing K bolted to the inner side of the cylinder carrying casing E may serve to carry the electric ignition distribut ing apparatus diagrammatically indicated at L, L The casing K also as it is connected to and rotates with the cylinders ma y serve to drive the valve operating gear which is preferably housed within this casing, but as this invention is applicable to any cycle of operations in revolving cylinder engines and the valve gear does not form part of this invention it is not shown.

The cylinder casing, as illustrated in the drawings, is divided in the radial central plane and the two halves of the casing are bolted together to grip the cylinders be tween them when in assembled position.

The inner ends of each cylinder adjacent the next cylinder may be cut away in curved manner to allow room for fitting each cylinder in succession. The piston is curved ii". like manner at its lower end as indicated to prevent adjacent pistons fouling at the lower end of their strokes.

What Ido claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a revolving cylinder internal combustion engine, a stationary shaft, a cylinder casing supported upon and revoluble eccentrically around the stationary shaft, said shaft being eccentrically arranged with relation to the axis of the cylinder casing and parallel thereto, and a power trans mission shaft mounted axially upon and secured to the cylinder :asing, and projecting therefrom.

2. In a revolving cylinder internal combustion engine, a single stationary straight shaft, disks eccentrically arranged on said shaft, a cylinder casing supported by said shaft, said cylinder casing being mounted for rotation upon the disks, and a power shaft secured to said casing to extend axially thereof and eccentric to said straight stationary shaft.

In a revolving cylinder internal com-- bustion engine, a single stationary straight shaft, eccentric disks on said shaft, a cylinder casing mounted for rotation upon the disks, anti-friction bearings between the cylinder casing and the said disks, said cyie inder casing being divided centrally and each part of the casing being provided with an annular flange angular in cross section to receive a ring part of one of the antifriction bearing devices.

4:. In a revolving cylinder internal combustion engine, a stationary shaft, a cylinder casing revoluble eccentrically around the stationary shaft, the shaft being eccentrically arranged with relation to the axis of the casing and parallel thereto, and an auxiliary cylinder casing member secured to and extending from one side of the said cylinder casing, the axis of the auxiliary casing being eccentrically arranged respect ing the axis of said shaft.

JAMES DENNIS ROOTS.

Witnesses:

EILEEN HIND, CATHERINE A. CARLIsLE. 

